Elite soldiers modelled a drinking vessel on slain Afghan’s prosthetic leg

A glass drinking vessel modelled on the prosthetic leg of a slain Afghan was given to elite Australian soldiers after the man was allegedly executed, a court has heard.

Ben Roberts-Smith is suing Nine's Newspapers for defamation. Picture: NCA NewsWire/David Swift

A glass drinking vessel modelled on the prosthetic leg of a slain Afghan was given to Australian special forces soldiers following the man’s alleged execution by war hero Ben Roberts-Smith, a court has heard.

On the third day of cross-examination in the Federal Court by Nicholas Owens, SC, for Nine newspapers, Mr Roberts-Smith repeatedly denied modifying his evidence in an effort to conceal the alleged murders of two Afghan men under Australian control.

Mr Roberts-Smith, 42, is suing The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and The Canberra Times, now under separate ownership, over reports published in 2018 that alleged he committed murder during deployments to Afghanistan. He denies the allegations and says the reports portray him as a war criminal.

As part of its truth defence, the newspapers allege that Mr Roberts-Smith committed or was complicit in six unlawful killings in Afghanistan, including the murder of a man with a prosthetic leg in 2009. The media outlets allege the man was a PUC – an acronym for persons under the control of Australian soldiers – and that Mr Roberts-Smith shot him “with an extended burst of machinegun fire”.

On the 10th day of the defamation case, the court heard Australian special forces soldiers were given a glass replica of the prosthetic leg. “Everyone in the squadron was given one,” Mr Roberts-Smith said.

In April, photos of Australian soldiers drinking from a prosthetic leg – allegedly taken from a slain Afghan – at an unauthorised bar at Australia’s military base in Afghanistan were broadcast on 60 Minutes and published in the Nine newspapers. On Monday, Mr Roberts-Smith conceded he had “cheered on” soldiers who had drunk from the prosthetic leg but denied drinking from it himself.

Mr Owens told the court that Mr Roberts-Smith murdered the man with a prosthetic leg by throwing him to the ground and then shooting him 10-15 times. He repeatedly denied the allegation on Monday, maintaining that the Taliban insurgent was shot after he appeared around a corner with a bolt action rifle.

Mr Owens said the two Afghan men had surrendered after they were found in a tunnel inside the compound and detained by Australian soldiers. As well, Mr Roberts-Smith or person 4 asked if they could borrow a “silencer” from person 41, which they later used in one of the alleged murders, Mr Owens said.

In a tense day of cross-examination, Mr Roberts-Smith repeatedly denied the assertions put to him by Nine. He maintained that there were “no men in the tunnel” and that they Australian soldiers had been ambushed by the two men, who were killed within the rules.

Mr Owens submitted that after the killing Mr Roberts-Smith asked another soldier, person 41, who had witnessed the alleged execution, “are we cool?”

The court heard the Victoria Cross recipient was also in a “panic” about whether an unmanned drone had filmed the alleged murders.

“When you went back inside the compound, I put to you that you had a conversation with person 5,” Mr Owens said.

He said Mr Roberts-Smith asked person 5 how they could stop the drone from “filming”.

“No,” Mr Roberts-Smith replied. “It’s a ridiculous assertion.”

The trial continues.